Arizona Department of Public Safety officers arrested a protester at the Arizona Capitol during hearings about problems voting in the Arizona presidential-preference election.
Laura Gomez-Rodriguez/ La Voz

VOTING PROBLEMS IN MARICOPA COUNTY
Hour and a half line to vote in Arizona Primary | 1:01

Voters at the polling place at 40th Street and Thomas in Phoenix had to wait in line to vote in the Arizona Presidential Primary for an hour and a half. Experience that entire line in just 60 seconds. David Wallace/azcentral.com

Secretary of State Michele Reagan talks to media about election debacle

Angry voters pack election hearing

Voter calls on Helen Purcell to resign

Public commenter to Helen Purcell, "How dare you!"

Take a tour of a long poll line

Voters speak out against long lines and suppression

Helen Purcell addresses voting concerns

Helen Purcell takes responsibility for voting problems

Video shows Maricopa County had concerns about polls months before

Hundreds in line for hours waiting to vote

Hundreds of Arizonans still trying to vote at 11 p.m.

Arizona voters call long lines 'inexcusable'

Polls closing shut some voters out

Polls begin to close in Arizona

Hour and a half line to vote in Arizona Primary

Lines frustrating voters in Arizona

Primary Day Voting In Ahwatukee

Primary voting in Tempe

South Phoenix voters frustrated by lines and voting red tape

Voters wait 90 minutes in north/central Phoenix to vote

After two days testimony, Judge David Gass concludes that there was not enough evidence to move forward with a trial.

Judge David B. Gass listens to arguments on whether to overturn the results of last month's presidential preference election in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, Ariz., on Monday, April 25, 2016.(Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic)

Story Highlights

Hearings Monday and Tuesday were to determine if there was legal cause to go forward with trial

The state and the counties argued that the complaint was neither timely nor adequately prepared

After two days of testimony, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed to invalidate the March Arizona presidential preference election.

The suit was filed against Secretary of State Michele Reagan and every Arizona county by attorney Michael Kielsky on behalf of a Tucson man named John Brakey, who says his occupation is "election integrity activist." In their pleadings, they alleged that voter-registration requests were mishandled and the number of polling places in Maricopa County was improperly cut.

Hearings Monday and Tuesday were to determine if there was legal cause to go forward with trial.

The state and the counties countered that the complaint was neither timely nor adequately prepared. And they questioned whether election law applied to presidential preference elections. Judge David Gass took the matter under advisement but allowed the evidentiary hearing to go forward.

During his argument, Kielsky further alleged that 100,000 voters were disenfranchised and that fraud had been committed. He paraded numerous angry voters to the witness stand, but on cross-examination, assistant Maricopa County attorneys were able to show that most of their votes had in fact been counted.

Maricopa County election chaos

Gass questioned the credentials of the expert witnesses Kielsky and Brakey tried to present. One suggested hackers could have broken into voting databases kept by counties and the Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles. Another said that voting-analysis professionals "voided" his methods because, "They don't want to know the truth."

Ultimately, Gass noted that the only reasons an election could be invalidated are if there is proof of election-board misconduct or fraud that would change the outcome. Gass ruled that Kielsky and Brakey had not met the burden of proof, and that it would not have made a difference. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton won handily.

Brakey himself asked to testify as an expert witness in the case, but said under cross-examination that he had no formal computer or legal training and that he had not published peer-reviewed books or articles on the subject. He was denied the chance to testify as an expert.

"These are always emotional issues," Gass said. "Elections are human endeavors; they are never perfect."

"Otherwise, what we face is trying to undo an election," he said. Gass acknowledged that the number of polling places was inadequate — some voters stood in line for 5½ hours — but said that such issues should be worked out ahead of time.

After the hearing, Brakey said he did not intend to appeal the ruling.

"We've achieved what we wanted," he said.

Kielsky elaborated: "We did achieve one of our goals. We were able to present the evidence that we could muster to expose some of the (voting) misdeeds."

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

For some voters, Arizona's presidential preference election was like a horror movie, one with a boring plot that drags on way too long. Dozens of you shared your stories with The Arizona Republic. Here are seven.
David Kadlubowski/The Republic

Danette Au didn’t expect to wait for two hours at a VFW hall in Chandler. She's still recovering from knee surgery and it was painful to stand for so long. It was even more painful for her Wednesday, when her knee throbbed and it was difficult to walk. After waiting about two hours in line to vote, she was told she is not a registered Democrat and given a provisional ballot. She was upset about the discrepancy, saying she's been a registered Democrat for about 20 years.
Courtesy Danette Au

Noor Awartani drove 10 minutes to her voting location with her 7-month-old baby in tow, but then couldn't find a parking spot. Plus, she wrote, the line was long and "there was no way I could get my 7-month-old to stay in line for that long in the heat.”
Courtesy Noor Awartani

￼JessaLynne Chavira and her husband drove to a Goodyear church and waited three hours to vote "only to find out that somehow our party affiliation was changed to 'no party preference.' " They had to vote provisional ballots.
Courtesy ￼JessaLynne Chavira

Mary Schmit rationed water during her three-hour wait to cast a ballot at an American Legion hall. When she made it to the front of the line, she was frustrated to learn of the "huge number" of people registered as independents who wanted to vote by provisional ballots, which slowed the process. When she finally cast her ballot, she discovered "only TWO of us were in the actual voting booths."
Courtesy Mary Schmit

A.W. Spicer is on the county's "Permanent Early Voting List," but said he didn't get his ballot. He wanted to cast his vote Tuesday, but couldn't figure out where to go. Disgusted, he phoned county elections officials, who told him his ballot had gone out weeks ago, and according to their information, had been delivered. He did receive his ballot on Wednesday.
Courtesy A.W. Spicer

Tina Strong got sunburned waiting with her husband for four hours to cast her vote for Ted Cruz. She witnessed lots of people – including a pregnant woman – bailing on the democratic process because they couldn't stand around forever, and they had other obligations. She was frustrated to learn only four poll workers were checking in voters. By the time they left about at about 6:30 p.m., the line had more than doubled.
Courtesy Tina Strong

Ashley Thomas and her boyfriend showed up at their polling place at a north Phoenix church about 6:30 p.m. to cast their votes for Sanders. They shared her cardigan as they waited five hours in the "freezing wind." But poll workers told them they had to vote using provisional ballots because the address on file for them was not up to date.
Courtesy Ashley Thomas